What You Need

A clear block font that is easy for preschoolers to read

Stickers

Old magazines

Crayons

Markers

What To Do

Type all the letters of the alphabet using a clear block font that is easy for preschoolers to read. Make each letter of the alphabet large enough that it fills an entire 8 ½ by 11 sheet of paper. Print each letter on its own piece of paper and have the preschoolers help you hang the letters of the alphabet on the wall.

You can adjust the shape of your alphabet wall to the wall space that you have available. The letters of the alphabet can either be posted on the wall in one continuous line or in a block formation that ends after 5-7 letters and continues on the next line. The main idea with an alphabet wall is to help preschoolers to recognize the letters of the alphabet. A block formation keeps the alphabet wall in one location and is easier for preschoolers to work on.

The alphabet wall is an ongoing project. As the preschoolers do projects related to a letter of the alphabet, have them take down the paper with that letter from the alphabet wall and work together to color and decorate it. Cut pictures out from old magazines of objects that start with that letter and help preschoolers glue the pictures to the letter. Find stickers of things that start with the letter the preschoolers are working on and use them to decorate the letter page. When the letter is complete, place it back in it's location on the alphabet wall.

By the end of the preschool year, preschoolers will have a alphabet masterpiece that shows all the letters and sounds that they have learned throughout the year.

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Hi! I'm Rachel Lister, the Preschool Education writer at PreschoolRock.com. I live in Utah with my husband and two beautiful boys. When my oldest son was born, I quit my teaching job and opened a home daycare and preschool. I love to help preschoolers learn about the world around them. They make life interesting and I can't imagine doing anything different. If you have any ideas, suggestions or comments, feel free to contact me.

Helpful Tips for Parents

• Model learning yourself. A parent who reads books, asks questions, visits museums, and says "I don't know, let's find out" teaches learning as a lifestyle, not a chore.

• Learning is most durable when it's embedded in play. Don't pull children away from play to "do learning" — find the learning inside the play they're already doing.

• Read aloud daily for at least 15 minutes. This single habit is the strongest predictor of kindergarten reading readiness and long-term academic success.

• Answer "why" questions fully and honestly. A child who gets real answers to their questions develops deeper curiosity than one whose questions are dismissed or oversimplified.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if my preschooler is learning enough at home?

Developmental milestones (not academic benchmarks) are the appropriate assessment tool for preschoolers. Verify your child is meeting age-appropriate milestones for language, motor, social-emotional, and cognitive development using your pediatrician's well-child visit assessments. Preschoolers learning through play, conversation, books, and daily life engagement are learning more than their standardized test scores will later reflect. Concern is warranted if a child shows regression in skills previously mastered, or fails to meet speech and language milestones.

What is the role of technology in preschool education?

High-quality educational apps and programs (PBS Kids, Khan Academy Kids, Starfall) used in limited, adult-co-viewed sessions can supplement preschool learning. However, interactive human experiences (conversation, shared book reading, hands-on experimentation, social play) remain far superior as primary learning modes. Screen-based learning is most effective when it is: co-viewed with an adult, limited to 30–60 minutes per day, followed by extension activities in the real world (after a nature app, go outside), and consistently educational rather than commercial.

Related reading: See also our writing readiness guide and our alphabet activities for more ideas on this topic.

🎓 Skills Your Child Will Develop

• 📚 Pre-Reading Skills — Activities that involve letters, sounds, rhymes, and print directly build the phonological awareness and letter knowledge that are the two strongest predictors of successful reading development.
• 😊 Love of Learning — Positive early learning experiences build a child's identity as a learner — and children who see themselves as curious, capable learners approach school with the engagement and resilience that matter more than any specific skill.
• 🧠 Memory & Recall — Remembering rules, retelling a story in sequence, and practicing skills to automaticity builds working memory and long-term recall — the cognitive foundation that learning in every subject depends on.
• ⚡ Executive Function — Planning, sequencing steps, holding rules in mind while acting, and stopping a prepotent response all build executive function — the cluster of cognitive skills most strongly predictive of long-term academic and life success.

Creating a text-rich environment plays a huge role in helping preschoolers recognize the letters of the alphabet and develop important pre-reading skills. Many parents and preschool teachers struggle to come up with ideas to include text in their daily environment. Preschoolers can help to create an alphabet wall that changes and grows as preschoolers learn more about each letter of the alphabet.